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| Sultan bathery, Wayanad, Kerala indiatoday.in |
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| 13-14 CE Jain temple,Sultan bathery, commons.wikimedia.org |
Above image: The name Sulthan Bathery is a corrupt form of Sultan's Battery. A police station stands on the ruins of a fort once built by the Mysore ruler.........
Sulthan Bathery, a major town in Kerala’s Wayanad district, derives its unusual name from an episode in the late 18th century when Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, used an ancient Jain temple here as a military storehouse. Originally known as Ganapathivattom, the place stood on a strategic route through the Western Ghats, about 1,000 metres above sea level and roughly 100 km from Kozhikode. The granite Jain temple, believed to date to the 13th–14th century and built in Vijayanagara style, once served as a centre for Jain merchants and pilgrims in northern Kerala. Its simple yet elegant architecture, with carved pillars and a sanctum on a raised platform, reflects a time when Wayanad was part of vibrant trade networks linking the Deccan, Tamil country, and the Malabar coast.
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| Jain temple, Sulthan bathery .trodly.com |
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| Jain temple, Sulthan bathery, kerala.Indiantravelblogs .blogspot.com |
Above image: 13th century Jain temple atop the hill, Sulthan bathery (Sultan Battery). Built by the Vijayanagara ruler, presently it is being managed by the ASI. Tipu Sultan captured this place and used the jain temple to store his war weapons as he had a plan to expand his sultanate in this region. In 1792 by a treaty with Tipu, The English company had not ceded it and after the fall of Tipu in 1799 at Srirangapatna in the final Anglo-Mysore war, the Wayanad area was given to the previous Mysore ruler the Wadiyar royal family (from whom Hyder Ali seized the kingdom). However on 29 December 1803, the English company repossessed this area which was administered by col. Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington who was defeated in the late 1700s in a rebellion led by Pazhassi Raja, a warrior prince) whose army defeated French army chief Napoleon in Waterloo........
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| PicturesqueWayanad,Kerala wayanad.com |
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| Road to Sulthan bathery, Kerala .tripadvisor.in |
During the Mysore campaigns in Malabar, Tipu Sultan advanced into Wayanad as part of his efforts to consolidate control over the region and secure a route to Travancore. Around the late 1780s, he converted the old Jain shrine into a battery—an armoury and storage point for artillery, firearms, and supplies—giving rise to the name “Sultan’s Battery,” later softened in Malayalam to Sulthan Bathery. A fort once built nearby by the Mysorean forces later fell to ruin, and today a police station occupies the spot. Tipu’s presence in the area formed part of his broader contest with the British East India Company and their allies. Following the Treaty of Seringapatam in 1792, Wayanad was left under Mysore, but after Tipu’s death at Srirangapatna in 1799, the region reverted to the Wadiyar dynasty, only to be taken over again by the British in 1803 under Colonel Arthur Wellesley.
Sulthan Bathery later became linked with the resistance of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, the “Lion of Kerala,” who fought guerrilla wars against both the British and Mysore. The wooded hills and caves of Wayanad offered natural cover for his forces, and the surrounding tribal population often aided him. Over time, migrants from other parts of Kerala also settled here, joining indigenous communities who maintained old traditions, including worship at nearby shrines such as the 8th-century Ganapati temple.
Today, the Bathery Jain Temple is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and attracts visitors for its historical aura and understated beauty. The town has grown into a lively hub, noted for its pleasant climate, plantations, and proximity to Edakkal Caves and other attractions. Though Tipu’s guns and powder are long gone, the name “Sulthan Bathery” endures as a reminder of how a medieval place of worship was drawn into the currents of Mysore’s military ambitions and the colonial struggles that reshaped the Malabar highlands.
